Chapter 13 - MARGARET'S PLAN
Investigators found no evidence that Margaret had planned physical harm.
Marcus was careful about that.
A suspicious insurance policy was not proof of a crime beyond fraud.
But its purpose became clear after Samuel analyzed the financial projections.
Bennett Holdings was heading toward insolvency.
If I died, the five-million-dollar payment would go to the company.
The money would solve almost every immediate crisis.
Margaret hadn't needed to plan my death.
She had simply turned it into a financial solution.
I felt physically ill.
To her, even my existence had become a number on a spreadsheet.
Daniel asked to meet.
This time I agreed.
We sat in Rachel's conference room again.
He looked at the insurance documents.
"I found out last November."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I confronted my mother."
"What did she say?"
"That it was standard business planning."
"And you believed her?"
"No."
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
He stared at his hands.
"Because I knew you'd start looking."
I almost laughed.
"You were protecting them."
"I thought I was protecting you."
"From what?"
"The fraud."
"You thought ignorance protected me from fraud committed in my name?"
He closed his eyes.
"I know how it sounds."
"It sounds exactly like what happened."
His voice broke.
"I was ashamed."
That answer was finally honest.
Not scared.
Not confused.
Ashamed.
He had known that telling me the truth would force him to admit who he had become.
I studied him.
"Did you ever love Natalie?"
He looked surprised.
"Yes."
The answer hurt.
But I appreciated it more than another lie.
"And me?"
"Yes."
"At the same time?"
He looked down.
"I don't know what that says about me."
"I do."
His eyes lifted.
"It says you wanted every life without accepting the cost of choosing one."
He began to cry.
Quietly.
I didn't comfort him.
"I kept thinking I could fix everything before you found out."
"You couldn't even defend me at dinner."
He flinched.
"That slap..."
He rubbed his forehead.
"I've replayed it every night."
"So have I."
"I should have stopped her."
"Yes."
"I should have told my mother to leave."
"Yes."
"I should have chosen you."
I looked at him.
"No, Daniel."
He frowned.
"You shouldn't have needed to choose."
His face crumpled.
"A husband doesn't stand between his wife and the person humiliating her and decide which side is safer."
I stood.
"He stands beside his wife."
Daniel nodded.
"I know."
"Too late."
As I reached the door, he said my name.
I turned.
"I have something for you."
He placed an envelope on the table.
Inside was a key.
"What is this?"
"A safe-deposit box."
"Whose?"
"Mine."
"What is inside?"
"Original documents."
My pulse increased.
"What documents?"
"Things I took from my mother's office last year."
"Why?"
"Insurance."
"Against her?"
"Against everyone."
I stared at him.
"What's in the box?"
Daniel's face went pale.
"Proof that Frederick Sloan wasn't acting alone."
"We know Margaret was involved."
He shook his head.
"Not Margaret."
"Who?"
He looked at me.
"My father."
I stared at him.
"Your father has been dead seven years."
"I know."
Daniel swallowed.
"But before he died, he left records."
"Of what?"
"How Bennett Holdings really started."
May you like
I waited.
Daniel whispered, "Claire, the money that built my family's fortune never belonged to us."
